Ragnarok

Note: Wow, I didn't think this one chapter would've taken so long to type up. I was going to split it up, but doing so would make two teeny tiny chapters, so I improvised. This one breaks 7,000 words, so be sure to be in for the chapter.

After this, only one more chapter of prologue, then on to the real story!

Also, I'm still doing the mailing list bit, so email me if you want in and such.

Also, be sure to review and criticize. I always have room for improvement.

Enjoy the read!

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0:04
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The cheers from the crowd roared out of the open auditorium and into the empty streets of downtown Twinleaf Town. Every soul in town would go wild at the sound of a Pokemon Battle, but who could truly blame them? Being the starting point for most trainers, the battles the citizens were treated to could be categorized as...mediocre at best. Casual mistakes by rookie trainers occasionally made the townspeople cringe, unable to do anything as the opposing trainers continued their battles. Sadly, for the kindly people of Twinleaf, the best source of entertainment was the Pokemon Battle Network. When they heard of this new style of graduation from the dean of the Pokemon Academy, the entire town was flooded with gossip as to what kind of battles they would see. Truly, this was a night for all to remember for the rest of their lives.

Noah was definitely not an exception to this. He instantly broke eye contact with Mr. 2 in an attempt to try to find his parents again in the crowd. Again, nothing but a blinding sea of colors from billboards, clothing, and pom-poms from the crowd. It was simply too difficult to see anyone in particular.

He didn't want to fool himself into thinking they were surely watching him from the stands, but he chose to do so in order to focus his thoughts on the battle to come. Noah would rather go into his first battle thinking that they were watching him, than knowing that they weren’t. He took a deep breath, and, slowly, exhaled, taking in the situation as best as he could.

The auditorium sure looked fantastic. Besides the golden curtain that sparkled in the light, silver banners rained from the rooftop, hanging directly above the school staff and the graduates in the arena below. On one side of Noah, were the stands which the crowd currently occupied, still roaring in anticipation of the battles. On the other, a large podium in which the entire faculty stood, and even higher toward the ceiling, the three highest authorities of Twinleaf's esteemed Pokemon Academy: Dean and Superintendent, both sitting down behind a table, both in suits that not even Noah's could rival in "smoothness", and in-between the two of them, a Sinnoh Government Official Noah recognized right away by her dazzling black outfit and flowing blonde hair.

"C-Cynthia?! Here?!" Noah felt as though his heart had completely stopped. His rhythmic breathing ceased, his eyes now shooting back toward his own being, making sure his attire met his standards for the occasion. He quickly dusted his shirt (not that he needed to), and looked back toward his opponent on the opposite side of the arena centered in-between the crowd and school officials.

Staring back at Mr. 2 made Noah realize something about this student. Despite not knowing him at all, and never actually talking to each other, the student felt familiar to him. Mr. 2 seemed to simply radiate a friendly vibe that continued to welcome Noah. Mr. 2 also had the same body build as Noah, and now that he thought about it...it was like staring into a mirror. He even shared the same confidence Noah conveyed before taking that glance at Cynthia. The only difference Noah could easily point out between the two was their social status. Noah himself, being number one in the school ranks, was a respected student of course, but Mr. 2 had an incredible skill in the form of socializing. Mr. 2 was the undisputed "Mr. Popular" of Twinleaf's youth, the shouts of his real name from the massive crowd only helping to confirm this.

Noah's thoughts were finally broken when he saw a man dressed in white and black walk toward the center of the arena, waving the two challengers over toward him. He blew the whistle around his neck as hard as he could to silence the over hyped crowd as the boys trotted over to the man.

"Okay," the referee began, "this is the Official Twinleaf Pokemon Academy Graduation Test issued by the Sinnoh Government. By agreeing to this battle you also accept the rules and regulations set forth by the official Pokemon League, and take full responsibilities for any actions between now and the time the battle is over. Failure to follow the rules and regulations can and will be punishable by the Twinleaf Pokemon Academy in the form of suspension." The referee wheezed, trying to take in more breath than humanly possible. "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Noah and Mr. 2 replied autonomously.

"And do you agree to this Pokemon Battle?"

"Yes." they replied, Noah's heart rate increasing.

"Very well then. Here are the rules to the battle:

One: You will both be given two random Pokemon which are at equal levels in terms of combat.
Two: You will then be given exactly two minutes to battle each other, and will be judged based on what actions you take to gain the advantage of the battle.
Three: The battle is over either when one Pokemon is unable to battle, or when the timer stops.

Do you understand?" the referee finished.

One final time, the two challengers replied, "Yes."

The referee "power-walked" back to the podium, and opened a large brown case that rested at the foot of the table Cynthia sat at. He mumbled inaudible words to Cynthia, which she acknowledged with a nod. She stood up, and reached into the case, pulling out two inactive pokeballs, each marked with the seal of High Noon. She analyzed the pokeballs, gently smiled, and handed the two to the referee. Quickly, the referee re-approached the two boys and handed each one of them a pokeball. Noah stared at the bright red and gray ball that now rested in his hand. Soon, he too, will have his very own pokemon team to fight with. He glanced at the High Noon symbol once again to admire it, when he was promptly whistled at by the referee, signaling for him to return to his side of the arena.

"Noah!" Mr. 2 yelled across the stadium over the silenced crowd and staff.

Noah jumped at the voice, not realizing that Mr. 2 had just called him.

"Good luck!! May the best student win!"

Noah was confused. He rarely socialized at school; always putting his studies before everything else, save for his parents. The words that Mr. 2 spoke awoke a sleeping spirit that rested inside of Noah.

"The same goes for you as well!" Noah shouted back, a beaming smile resting on his face.

The voice of the referee echoed throughout the auditorium, coming from speakers located around the arena and above the crowd.

"Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen! We now take you to our next match-up!"

Noah chuckled. The referee suddenly sounded excited at the prospect of the battle, seeming to be more like an announcer at the moment.

"We have one heck of a match-up for you here folks!" The referee threw his right hand to his side, shifting everyone's direction onto Mr. 2. "On my right, a highly revered student deeply involved in the community here at Twinleaf. He has dedicated countless hours to the citizens in this town, and has one of the highest grade averages here at Twinleaf Pokemon Academy! This boy is a force to be reckoned with, and has already received invitations from the Sinnoh Government as a soon-to-be-agent! Ladies and gentlemen! I give you: Jeremiah "Jerry" Van Tussel!"

Noah flinched as the crowed erupted yet again after the drawn out introduction. 'So, he's a Van Tussel? That makes sense...' Noah thought to himself. The Van Tussell family was famous in Twinleaf not just for their overwhelming amount of wealth, but for how they used said wealth to help improve the community. His family's status in Twinleaf would also explain why he had such a great figure, etiquette, and such a high grade point average. Noah grinned, realizing how much he would gloat later to his parents on how he took down a Van Tussell in his first battle.

"And in this corner, ladies and gentlemen, is a boy known famous throughout all regions!"

Noah blushed. "Oh jeez, here he goes..."

"His parents are none other than the Legendary Sol Duo! That's right, the two solely responsible for the end of The Regional Split! This however, is not the only achievement they've accomplished! Combined, they have toppled each and every Pokemon League Gym, destroyed every member of the Elite Four, and even overwhelmed each Pokemon Champion from the regions! These two have been declared by High Noon to be amongst the top five strongest trainers in the combined lands of Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto!"

Noah never liked being around when others constantly spouted his parent’s legacy, and tried as hard as he could to hide the pride he had for the two of them.

"We expect amazing achievements from their amazing brainchild offspring, who has dominated Twinleaf Pokemon Academy with a grade average of, get this: one-hundred ten percent!! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: ‘The Prodigy’, Noah Sol!"

The crowd exploded with anticipation. Yes, Pokemon Battles were always something to calm down their lust for action, but to see the top two students go into battle against one another was a once in a lifetime opportunity; this battle would quench such a monstrous appetite.

The announcer, or referee, raised both hands high into the air, breathing in another large quantity of oxygen. "BEGIN THE BATTLE!" The referee roared, bringing both of his arms down simultaneously.

Within moments, both Noah and Jerry activated their pokeballs, and hurled them towards the center of the arena, sending forth a blinding light that materialized into two figures on the field.

Noah snatched the pokeball as it returned to him, and stared on at the beast that was temporarily under his control. It stood slightly over four feet, with dark, sharp claws resting at the ends of its arms. Its milky white fur rustled as it stretched and gained form from the light, with red fur marking its body in a zigzag pattern across its eye and plump belly.

"Pokemon ID Number 335: Zangoose" Noah mumbled. He turned over to Jerry's pokemon as it took a thick and coiled shape on the ground. Noah blurted out, almost laughing aloud at the sweet, delicious irony.

Seviper hissed from across the arena, both pokemon suddenly struggling with difficulty to keep their instinct to kill one another in check. Jerry could be caught striking a smile at the situation as well.

The audience on the other hand, as well as some of the officials, stood in shock at the pokemon that emerged. Cynthia on the other hand, started a cheery laugh that calmed the officials down.

Noah dismissed the result and analyzed his zangoose. 'Strong arms, slightly built. It obviously has a load of battle experience.' Noah thought. 'First, I need to see exactly what level this zangoose is around.' Noah decided to start the battle off.

"Zangoose, X-Scissor!" Noah commanded. The zangoose suddenly leaped toward the Seviper at a blinding speed, slowly bringing its claws back as it approached. Jerry shouted a command as well; the seviper slithered with unprecedented quickness toward its furry nemesis. Zangoose's claws began to glow a faint green, Seviper's blade-shaped tail glowing a midnight black. 'Night Slash!' Noah's thoughts echoed throughout his mind. Claws and tail slashed toward one another, the attacks colliding in the center of the arena. The two enemies struggled to gain the upper hand as Noah and Jerry looked on.

The zangoose slowly began to lose control, struggling to keep a proper stance on the ground, when something suddenly clicked inside Noah's mind. 'If it knows X-Scissor, then it has to be at an incredibly high level...then...that means…"

"Swords dance, now!" Noah commanded. Zangoose roared with anger toward Seviper, when a sudden whirlwind started to form around the beast. The whirlwind spun faster and faster, and within moments, dissipated back into the air. The pokemon grinned, malice toward the other specie etched into its mind. Before Jerry could issue an order, zangoose’s x-scissor overwhelmed Seviper's night slash, forcing the claws right toward its reptilian mid-section. It struck hard, sending the serpent back to Jerry's corner. It quickly stood back up, shaking off the already developing bruise to its scales, ready for battle.

'Of course. Even an x-scissor won't damage a Seviper too much.' Noah though. ‘But, now I know where my Zangoose stands in terms of level.'

Jerry's seviper shot back toward the center of the arena, bearing its blood red fangs. Noah was unable to issue a command in time. The fangs dug deep into zangoose's arm, the mammalian creature cried out from the sharp pain that now seared through its limb. Seviper continued to hiss, sending in ounce after ounce of poison into zangoose's bloodstream. The cat ferret struggled to pull the snake off of its arm, using its available claw to continuously strike at the seviper's head. This only caused the reptile’s fangs to clamp down on its arm harder, resulting in more pain and a strange burning sensation from the poison that the zangoose had to endure.

Noah acted quickly: "Crush Claw, now!"

Zangoose didn't nod or shout back at Noah, but the fact that it raised its open claw up to the ceiling displayed that it approved of Noah's demand. The sharp claw gleamed in the light as it shot down at an incredible speed, ramming hard into seviper's head, forcing the serpent to release the bitten arm. White fur scattered into the air from the release, followed by a thin trail of blood mixed with a purple poisonous substance that still dripped from seviper's fangs as it retreated a few steps.

The two pokemon faced each other again, never losing sight of one another. Zangoose clenched its wound with its available arm while seviper continued to flinch from the pain that surged from its head. Blood slowly began to run down the fang snake’s skull from the blow its nemesis had landed.

Noah's eyes quickly glanced at the timer that rested on the podium of the arena. One minute had just passed. He still had one minute to impress the judges, and that was his intention. Fortunately for him, he already figured out Jerry's strategy.

Seviper backed up several more feet from Noah's pokemon, a piercing red light beginning to illuminate the room from its eyes. It hissed aloud as the light continued to grow.

Zangoose winced, quickly jumping out of the way of an oncoming Glare, still holding its bleeding arm. It stood still, slowly regaining its own focus, when yet another whirlwind began to form around its body. Zangoose bellowed, extending its unwounded claw back, then shot toward the seviper at a blinding speed moments after the whirlwind ceased.

The snake couldn't keep up with the swift footed pokemon's movements. The zangoose's shoulder slammed hard into the seviper's face, sending it spiraling into the wall with an incredible force from the quick attack. The blood from its head splattered on zangoose's fur, matching the red patterns on its body. Jerry gasped as the seviper fell to the ground, encouraging it to continue the battle. The serpent struggled, but managed to regain its balance after a few moments.

The clamor from the crowd continued to rise as Noah issued zangoose to retreat back to his corner. Jerry did the same with seviper. The two students locked eyes again, both pokemon showing signs of fatigue. Noah chuckled loud enough to get Jerry's attention, halting the action between the two pokemon.

"Something funny Noah?" Jerry shouted across the room.

"Attempting to poison, then paralyze an enemy is a pretty daring strategy." Noah announced. "Paralysis keeps the pokemon from moving, while the poison slowly disables the pokemon's ability to fight. I have to admit, it's pretty damn clever of you to try it."

Noah’s overall emotion diminished. "However, even if that glare hit...it wouldn't have been the main cause of my defeat in the end, hypothetically speaking."

To this, Jerry's eyes twitched. "And...exactly why wouldn't it have worked?"

"It's a shame that you didn't study hard enough to remember the subject." Noah lectured, waving his index finger around. "Zangoose. This pokemon has had many fierce battles with seviper in the past, and because of this, a natural hatred for the seviper is imbedded within every single zangoose alive. Fighting so much with such a deadly, poisonous pokemon also allowed its body to adapt to being poisoned on so many occasions, and as a result, zangoose worldwide have built up a natural immunity to exactly ninety-nine percent of natural poisons, mainly the potent poison from enemies like seviper."

Jerry's face widened, his jaw dropping at this irreversible consequential miscalculation.

"No matter how much poison you inject this zangoose with, it will never be affected." Noah finished, looking back at his zangoose's condition. It was tired, but still obviously willing to battle, the poison doing no physical harm to its body. Its bloody arm started to animate again, so talking to Jerry was proving effective, giving it time to recuperate. However, he also wanted the match over as soon as possible.

"A good trainer always has an alternate strategy!" Jerry shouted back to Noah. He issued a command at seviper, the snake pokemon springing into the air toward zangoose. Acting on its own will, zangoose charged headfirst into the assault, raising its sharp claws for battle once more, ignoring Noah’s order to defend.

Zangoose's claw swiped at the enemy, missing its body by a few inches. The seviper hissed as it quickly wrapped itself around the zangoose, squeezing it hard to keep it incapacitated. The zangoose forced air into its lungs as its body was crushed by the thick mass that was the serpent pokemon, trying to reduce the amount of pain flowing about its body. Noah could only look on as Jerry issued another command. Seviper suddenly screeched into the helpless pokemon’s ear, sending wave after wave of sound energy pulsating across the arena. The crowd and staff clamped their palms down onto their ears in shallow attempts to eliminate the irritant, but it was to no avail. The zangoose struggled, being at point-blank and getting hit with such a high frequency sound wave temporarily cut off all the sound that flooded its ears moments ago. The seviper released the cat ferret, backing up several feet before its eyes began to glow once again, this time, a silvery white color.

Zangoose was hit hard by the confuse ray that shot from the seviper's jaws an eye’s blink later, further confusing it. It flailed its arms around, trying to attack the serpent only several feet away from it, but was unable to even keep its balance on the floor. The helpless pokemon continued to flop around, falling every time it managed to struggle back to its feet. Zangoose caught a quick glance of the enemy, seemingly a short enough distance to strike at. It put all its strength into its arms and poised itself for a full rounded swing at the target, ignoring the cries from Noah as its claw tore through the air in front of it

The pokemon felt a heavy force slam into its belly, causing it to double over in pain and agony. Blood surfaced from the red fur on its body, more shooting out from its mouth and nose from the impact, all spilling onto the arena floor and forming several thin and small puddles. The zangoose stared down to find its claw stained with its own blood, realizing that it had struck itself hard in the mid-section. Its anger began to rise, forcing the pokemon straight back up and into a battle position, the confusion obviously broken at the same moment.

Noah admired the zangoose's determination to win, even if it was simply a test battle. It had to defeat its natural enemy at all costs. At least, that's what Noah believed.

Seviper suddenly charged again, realizing that zangoose had finally snapped out of the effects from its confuse ray, and made another attempt to shut its jaw down on the pokemon's undamaged arm. Realizing this, the zangoose side-stepped out of the way, the aggressive attack barely missing its target. Seviper quickly turned around to see where the zangoose had fled to, only to be greeted by a large, now crimson colored claw that ripped and tore across its scales on its face. Seviper fell straight back from the impact, and bounced off of the floor due to the force of the attack. It cringed and wrapped its body up as a reflex to the pain, the snake continuing to writhe in misery. The zangoose panted heavily, falling onto one foot, keeping itself balanced with its arms.

“Thirty seconds!” the referee informed.

"This has gone on long enough!" Noah shouted at Jerry. "Time for me to finish this!" He issued another order to zangoose. Another whirlwind quickly spun around the zangoose and disbanded a final time, forcing the pokemon to let loose a fearsome howl at the top of its lungs. Now at full attack strength, zangoose was ready to unleash one hell of an attack upon the injured and still squirming seviper.

“Twenty seconds!!”

The zangoose snarled as it raised its arms behind its back, getting ready to unleash a deadly blow to the pokemon.

A sharp burning sensation forced the zangoose to a halt. Its eyes closed shut in an attempt to reduce the pain. It took several short breaths before looking down at the source of its affliction. The seviper, barely breathing, clung to zangoose's previous injury at its belly, instinctively injecting more poison into its body. Zangoose was unable to move, paralyzed by the pangs it felt, giving the seviper time to recover from the previous blow, all the while damaging its body further.

“Ten seconds!!!”

"Zangoose!" Noah shouted at his pokemon. "Don't give up! Take the pain in stride! That seviper is going nowhere, so give it all you've got!"

This realization struck the zangoose hard, wiping away any frustration that continued to build up in the battle. The pokemon tried to breathe in deeply, but struggled due to its wounds. It looked down at its rival. The snake continued to bite into the zangoose, the poison slowly dripping onto the zangoose fur from the tiny crevices in seviper’s large fangs. The red gash on its forehead was still tender and fresh; and at this point in the battle, it was simply a large bulls-eye.

“Nine, eight, seven…”

The crowd's volume continued to increase as zangoose's claws stretched as high as its body would allow, building up energy for its next attack.

“Six, five, four…”

Jerry frantically tried to call seviper off to dodge the incoming attack, but the serpent ignored his orders, only trying to stay attached to the zangoose's flesh to further weaken it.

“Three, two…”

Noah continued to grin as the mongoose shaped animal ripped the air around it wide open with its claws, swooping down upon its victim.

“One!!!”

A loud explosion in the distance startled everyone inside the auditorium at the exact moment zangoose's attack collided with the now unconscious seviper. The snake’s fangs suddenly released, scraping a bit of red fur off the other pokemon’s belly as the sudden momentum shift forced him downward. The blow caused the seviper to bounce into the air from the ground several times before it lifelessly tumbled into the center of the arena, its head ripped almost entirely in half from the attack. The lights flickered as the seviper blacked out, and all went quiet.

Noah too, was startled at the sudden black-out, trying to piece together what just happened moments ago. The explosion was massive, sending several tremors through the ground beneath Noah's feet. The timer from the podium rang as it tumbled from its position, slamming onto the hard floor below, smashing into a dozen or so pieces. The crowd suddenly started to move again, mumbles and inaudible voices flowing through the air like the wind, they too questioning the source of such a monstrous reaction.

The lights flickered, and then turned back on. An audible sigh from the audience eased down the rest of the attendees. Everything else electronic in the auditorium suddenly beeped and booped back to life. The microphone attached to the referee ringing loudly for a few moments before returning to its normal state.

"A power failure perhaps?" the referee questioned. "Get a crew on that problem, before it happens again. Now, on with the-" the referee noticed the frail and bleeding seviper on the floor, raising his hand toward Noah's side of the arena.

"This matches winner is Noah Sol!!"

The crowd remained subdued for a few seconds longer, trying to register what just happened, before letting loose a victory cheer for the winner of the match. Noah smiled brightly, realizing that he had just won his first Pokemon Battle. He looked over to Jerry, who was already returning seviper to its pokeball, Noah following suit with zangoose. The referee waived his arms, just like before the match had started, signaling for them to approach him in the center of the arena, Noah trying to keep himself from fist pumping into the air.

"Congrats Noah," Jerry told him, stretching out his hand, "that one was a little too close."

Noah grabbed Jerry's hand firmly, trembling with excitement. "You too, Jerry. That sudden confuse ray really caught me by surprise. You did a great job, and I hope to battle you again sometime."

"We’ll have a rematch sometime, when we have our own pokemon, of course.”

The referee snatched both of the pokeballs from the graduates, handing them over to an emergency unit standing by next to the podium to help the pokemon recover from such a tremendous battle. With another gesture, he led the boys to the front of the podium to receive their scores from the three judges. Noah wasn't surprised by the results: Simply put, they both passed, with ease. The crowd gave a round of applause at the result, congratulating both students with chants of their names. Cynthia stood out of her chair, and opened her palms to either side of her body. The dean and superintendent each handing her a diploma of certification from the Sinnoh Government. She smiled as she stamped the official seal of High Noon onto each piece of paper, giving Jerry a pat on the head as she handed him his diploma. She turned toward Noah, focusing on his eyes. Noah could feel her "essence" as she stared, judging his character.

"You..." she whispered loud enough for Noah to hear. “I hope to see you soon at the Pokemon League." That said, she handed him his officially approved diploma.

Before Noah was able to piece together what had just happened, the referee pointed to Noah, then toward the curtains, forcing him away from the arena with a slight shove.

"Now for our next two contestants! First...-"

Noah was too busy eyeing his new diploma to care about the rest of the ceremony. If it were up to him, he would leave right now just to go home and gawk at the diploma some more.

"So that's that." Noah told himself, ignoring the somewhat nervous students who had yet to have been tested. "Come next season, I will actually start my journey, and become an official Pokemon Trainer." Noah again glanced at the paper in his hands, staring at the detail within the lettering, the deep black color of the text, and his name, which was written in bold letters in the center of the certificate. "This is what...bliss is, isn't it?" he told himself. He started to already daydream about his first day, which pokemon to pick, and what team he dreamed to someday have for his very own. He couldn't have felt any more proud of himself about the entire experience. He was now ready for the real deal, the Pokemon League was waiting at the end of this long, spiraling road, and all that was left was a straight shot right down the middle, where the Hall of Fame rested.

Noah looked around again, trying not to be the cause of too much attention, before realizing that the audience wasn't making any cheering noises. No pokemon had been released from their containers, and the referee hadn't blown his whistle. He stared blankly into space, trying to figure out what was going on before he heard something in the distance.

A wailing police alarm was approaching from the innermost part of Twinleaf Town. The volume of the alarm grew louder and louder, passed, then quickly died down. Noah was about to dismiss it, when he heard another siren, and another, and another still. He, along with the majority of the waiting students, burst through the golden curtain, heading toward the exit along with the crowd and the faculty, to see what the commotion was all about. After all, this was Twinleaf Town: nothing ever happened. A swarm of bodies blocked the exits, everyone trying to get out of the building at once. Noah found that getting out through the front would be impossible at this rate, and looked around for an alternate exit. Fire emergency doors were located at the back of the auditorium, in the waiting room where he had been. Running back to where he had just been, he pushed the doors open, causing the fire alarm to go off. Quickly acting before anyone paid any notice, he slammed the door shut to stop the alarm.

Cynthia, who hadn't moved from her spot on the podium, stared at Noah as he took the exit. The smile that was on her face for the entirety of the night was gone. A single tear made its decent down her cheek, her hand quickly wiping away at the fluid.

"I feel...something unnatural." she said, her voice starting to trail off. She felt a vibration in her pocket, reaching in for her cell phone. A message had been sent to her:

"MEET AT THE USUAL SPOT."

Noah quickly darted across the back alley where the exit had taken him, and toward the front of the auditorium. For once, he was glad that it wasn't as large as some of the buildings he'd seen before in Jubilife or Hearthome. He saw wave after wave of police cars darting off down the street, the same crowd from the auditorium slowly oozing out of the exits in the front. Others who hadn't attended were peaking outside their doors and windows of their homes to see what the commotion was all about.

A horn from a large fire truck startled the onlookers as it shot down the street as fast as its wheels could take it. Squirtles and wartortles were visible, clinging to the top the machine as it passed. Another zipped by just as quickly, growlithes howling to alert the citizens to clear the path.

Noah finally made it out of the alleyway, and stared in the direction the vehicles disappeared into.

"Are they heading to the house?" Noah panicked, trying to shake his head of the worry. "Others live in that general direction too." he assured himself. He wouldn’t be relieved for seconds longer. Pandemonium struck him when the trucks sped up, going straight up the hill from which he came hours ago, toward the only house that rested upon that hill.

'I didn't see them at the ceremony...' Noah thought, his mind becoming hollow. 'Oh...SHIT!'

Without a second left to lose, Noah broke into a full run, drawing unneeded attention from the crowd as they watched the tall young man in a bright white tuxedo dash away into the distance.

Sweat was already starting to make its way down to his chin when he started climbing the difficult trail that lay in front of him. Exhaustion meant nothing to him at the moment, the adrenaline rush he was feeling proved to be more than enough to fuel his body. The cold night's air he breathed could be seen visibly with each exhale, and being so late into the evening hours, all was silent in the outskirts of Twinleaf Town. All except for that ominous police siren that continued to wail into the night sky…and his heavy panting as he continued up the path to the standalone house atop the escalated landscape. His suit was already starting to stain from the airborne dust that began to cling to it from the tires of the vehicles that sped by just moments ago.

A chilling wind blew in the opposite direction of Noah, giving him a sample of what he would have to expect in several moments: the smell of burning wood in the distance. He had no time to think otherwise, and increased his speed to his maximum potential, tearing through the path, kicking up dust behind him, ruining the shoes he wore. A gentle numb sensation started at his feet, the footwear he had on wasn't exactly made for running, the soles starting to wear out completely. He completely disregarded the feeling, letting his sense of fear take over.

The common forest pokemon had been awakened from the commotion, Noah quickly noticing and dismissing any pokemon that hissed or growled, protecting their nestlings and possessions. Numerous bidoof and shinx snarled as Noah zoomed by, starly trying to startle him through intimidation, flapping and stretching their wings out as far as possible. Noah ignored every warning the pokemon gave him, the wild inhabitants staring as he continued up the hill. Suddenly, as another blast of cold air came in from the direction, the pokemon activity died off completely, each and every one of them returning to their homes in fear, trying to hide from the strange feeling that began to build up inside of them.

The dirt hill began to flatten as he closed in on the final stretch of dirt road. Noah's fear intensified with each step closer to his home. His fears were finally realized when up ahead, he saw what seemed to be an entire fleet of police cars and fire trucks, surrounding the still burning wreckage of what used to be his house. His mind went utterly blank, the color of his face fading into a pale white that would've matched his tuxedo had it not been dirtied by the run back to the house. Only two words rang in his head, forcing themselves out of his mind and through his mouth, drawing attention to several officers that blocked any obvious entrance to the outside of the yard.

"MOM!! DAD!!" Noah called out, hoping but doubting that a reply would be heard from either of them. The officers knew right away his identity, based on his cry, one approaching him stiffly and in a very uptight manner.

"Come with me. He requested to see you before anything else could happen." he ordered, in a failing attempt to be calm. He grabbed Noah's hand, and chaperoned him through the barrier. Here, Noah caught a full eye's view of his burning house; the wooden frame was already showing signs of weakness from the intense flames that licked away at the foundation. Squirtle and wartortle continued the losing battle with the flames, blasting series after series of water gun attacks, each one only slowing down the advancement of the raging inferno.

Noah was led to an emergency care unit by the ambulance. His emotions clashed between anger, fear, and an intense sorrow, all of which forced tears to start down his cheeks. A stretcher was quickly placed inside of the ambulance standing by, the police officer hurriedly dragging Noah toward the van. Noah's feet felt as if they were glued to the ground as he saw what he hoped wasn’t his father, laying burnt in the face and upper body (the rest of him wrapped in bandages), with medics struggling to attach machines and life support to his body. It was obvious from the panic within the team of paramedics, to Noah, that this thing was in a terrible state of disrepair. In fact, even without them there, it would be easy to figure. From Noah’s view, his father looked like a giant hunk of wrapped beef in a meat freezer.

"D..ad?" Noah croaked, his voice breaking with another wave of oncoming tears, hoping that this wasn’t the same man he hugged in the afternoon. The figure suddenly jumped, looking him straight in the eyes. The figures eyes matched his own. His father moaned a bit, trying to reach his only hand up to Noah's face, the other completely missing from his body.

"Oh...dad." Noah started, inspecting for any damage that wasn’t already suffocated in bandages, wires, or shrouded by his father’s blood. Flesh was melting off of his father's shoulders and forehead, revealing a tender red layer underneath, the edges slightly burnt to a dark black color. His face was completely swollen, eyes barely managing to stay open. His lips seemed to be the only outer organ not affected by...whatever attacked him.

"Dad...Mom?" Noah managed to force out, hoping for the best...but preparing for the worst.

A single tear was all that his father managed to muster as a response for moments. He finally managed to successfully moan, and then focused primarily on generating understandable words.

"Noah...I'm so sorry..." he whispered, starting to cry even more. “I’m...so sorry. I tried...I really tried. It was just...too much."

Noah's eyes shot wide open from the words that cracked out of his father's mouth. His world, perfect just minutes ago, shattered into pieces. Witnessing this...his brave and honorable father, crying out from the pain and loss, unable to do anything. It broke the entirety of Noah's spirit to simply witness.

Suddenly, Richard let loose a thunderous scream that sent the medical instruments into a beeping frenzy. He violently screamed and trembled in place, forcing Noah back several feet. He stared at his father's unnatural reaction, terrified at what was going on.

"NOAH!!! BEE IS...!!" Richard screamed at the top of his lungs. "FIND!!”

His voice suddenly ceased, his body pausing for a moment.

Richard's tremors slowly began to start up again. Noah then witnessed an event that would scar his memory for the rest of his life. He stared down, hearing a dripping liquid collide with the floor below. A jet black substance was dripping from his father's torso area, and was quickly moving toward his upper body. The medical team, in complete and utter fear, backed away from the corpse as it continued to liquefy and fall to the floor.

"GET THAT KID OUT OF HERE!" A voice from the van shouted. An anonymous man in white quickly darted out of the back, over the bubbling pus that was deteriorating the father's face, and grabbed Noah's shoulder, dragging him away fiercely, before he could see his father's remains vanish into a boiling puddle on the floor. Noah felt his body go completely stiff as he was handed to another officer in front of the gate.

"..."

Noah was speechless. The will to live in his body extinguished, he fell to his knees, watching his house continue to burn in his stained and dirty white suit- and face, flooded with sweat and tears, slacks stained with some of the material that was his father. The sorrow began to build up, leaking out in the form of a weak and pitiful cry that only Noah himself could hear. Unnoticed by anyone, including the onlookers who had just arrived to witness the final moments of the fire by following Noah up the hill, the Soul Plate began to glow an dull black color that clashed with the darkness of the night.

"I'm...so...sad...make this..." an enigmatic voice cried out in Noah's head, "...make this pain…GO AWAY!!"

The pressure building inside his body was simply too much for him to handle. He clutched his head, in front of all the bystanders, officers, firemen, pokemon, and doctors, and let out a cry of agony that ripped away at the muscles in his throat, as well as the very soul that possessed his being.

At the same moment, the foundation of the house came crashing down, putting an end to Noah's long night, as well as ending the legacy of the Legendary Sol Family.

----------

Some hours later, somewhere, in a dark room far from any urban civilization, a meeting had just been called. A young woman with a black outfit and messy blonde hair swung the doors open, panting to regain her breath.

"Sorry I'm late."

"The news, if you would." A tall man sitting at a circular table demanded in a calm voice, hands folded across his body.

"The Legendary Sol Duo..." the lady started, "...has been eliminated."

A heavy silence filled the room. The tall man's body didn't budge from the news, his hands still crossed. The two figures to either side of him however, reacted differently, both jumping from their seats.

"IMPOSSIBLE." A smaller male voice said, more shocked rather than terrified by the news. “HOW!? We knew of the attack far in advance! What went WRONG!?”

Another silence followed his words, confirming the news.

"We have no choice." the tall man spoke, breaking the silence.

"No, this can't be that serious...can it?" a mysterious female voice replied.

"The Legendary Sols have been defeated." the tall man replied back, giving the other woman a cold stare. "You’re the only one who knows him well enough. Inform him that we require his assistance!" he added, directing his command to the other, smaller framed man.

"I'll do so immediately." the small man staggered out, still struck hard by the news. He walked as calmly as he could out of the room, the blonde haired woman following shortly behind. The door closed shut, concealing the room in complete darkness.

"So...who could've done it?" the other female voice questioned.

"Who else could it have been?" the man answered, cracking an unnoticeable smile in the dark.

----------

"Twinleaf Town will never be the same." a voice declared. The source of the voice turned away from the outskirts of the town, where a large group of men and women were waiting for him. A grunt scurried to his side. "Didn't I say I could handle it?" the man asked the grunt.

"Yes sir. It was amazing!" the grunt praised.

The man turned back around toward the glowing red embers that lie far in the distance. He slowly grinned wide...

Even from Noah's house on the opposite side of town, a vile, icy cold laugh could be heard, awakening anything that had slept through the ordeal.